The Why
by DanielFactoid
Summary: [complete]When Rachel is in her eighth month of pregnancy, she realizes she still has feelings for Ross. Does he feel the same, and how do the other four feel about this delicate situation?
1. Chapter 1

"The Why"

Show: Friends

Genre: Romance

Rated: K+ some minor cursing, references to sex…nothing that is worse than on the show ;)

Pairing(s): Ross/Rachel

Summary: When Rachel is in her eighth month of pregnancy, she realizes she still has feelings for Ross. Does he feel the same, and how do the other four feel about this delicate situation?

Author's Note: Rachel is eight months pregnant (in the eighth season) with Ross' child. AU fic, un-betaed. Also, I seriously couldn't think of a title for this at all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with "Friends"…… except for Chandler. Just kidding…though I sure wish I did…

To the Chick and the Duck- they don't get enough dedications, I swear.

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Chapter 1

Rachel Green sat in her friends' apartment, staring rather glumly at the bagel Monica had given her. _It's a sad bagel_, she thought to herself, _A very sad bagel. It needs someone to be there for it. Like…that English muffin over there. Because it's having the English muffin's baby. And the sad bagel needs the English muffin because it _really_ doesn't want to end up alone… _

"Oh, why the hell am I thinking about a bagel?" she muttered. Monica looked up from her magazine.

"All I heard was something about a bagel."

Rachel waved it off, "It's not important."

"You sure? Because when you start talking about breakfast foods, it gets me a little worried," Monica said with a smile. When Rachel said nothing, she continued, "You're sure you're okay? You seem a little…out of it."

Rachel lowered her voice, "I actually…have to talk to you about something."

Monica leaned in, "Ooh, what?"

"I kind of don't want to talk about while Chandler's here," Rachel replied, looking a little uncomfortable.

"You'll never _believe_ what I found!" came Chandler's voice from his and Monica's bedroom; a moment later, he appeared, grinning and holding up a sock bunny, "Remember this? Phoebe gave it to you!"

Monica stood up, "Don't you have to go to work?"

Chandler put the sock bunny on his hand and said in a squeaky voice, "Yes I do," he walked toward Monica, who was looking at him with a half exasperated, half amused look, "But I'd like to kiss you good-bye first," he said in the same voice.

"You are not touching me with that sock."

"Ah, well, now you made him sad," Chandler said in his normal tone.

"I actually think that's a girl," Rachel chimed in.

"And _you_ just made him a lesbian," Chandler said with a slight frown towards Rachel. He then leaned in and gave a quick kiss to Monica, "Bye!" he said in the squeaky voice, and left the apartment.

Monica sat down again, "So what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Rachel bit her lip, "Well…I was just…"

Chandler appeared in the doorway again and tossed the sock onto the couch, "Don't think it's a great idea for me to show up with a gay rabbit."

Rachel waited until Chandler had left again to continue, "I was just thinking…well...why…how the hell do you and Chandler have such a great relationship?"

Monica looked rather taken aback, "_What_?"

"It's just…whenever I see you two, you're like friends, but yet you're…married. You two are just like you were before London…just…different."

"And I was afraid you wouldn't make sense."

Rachel sighed, "You know? You two just click, you just _work_, you know what the other person is thinking, what you should do to comfort them, you know how to make each other laugh, and you almost never have big fights, or problems, or issues… How do you _do_ that, especially with _Chandler_?"

"Uhm… You know, that's the first time someone's ever complimented our relationship…I don't know, Rach, that's just the way we are. Me and Chandler have almost always gotten along…granted, I _did_ chop off his toe once, but that's not important…" she drifted off, "Can I ask why?"

Rachel rubbed her forehead, "Can I say no?"

"Come on, tell me what's going on."

Rachel looked up into Monica's eyes, "I think I'm in love with Ross."

"YOU'RE _WHAT_!"

"It's just… we're having this baby together, we live together…we've got such a _history_…everyone thinks we should be together…"

Monica took several deep breaths before replying, "Rach…are you saying you're in love with him because you think you two should be together, or because you really love him?"

"I…I think I really love him…But I need to talk to you about it. Because we're having this baby together, if I tell him…it could mess things up and I can't do that the baby!"

Monica head fell into her hands- was it possible for the Ross and Rachel situation to get more confusing? "Rach, I know you want to tell him, but like you said, I don't think that's a great idea. He probably doesn't feel the same…and look what happened when Joey told you he loved you! You two were awkward around each other for a while, and you can't let that happen with Ross. If you tell him, I really don't think you're going to get what you want. I mean, whenever you fall for Ross, you always get clobbered. Hell, you got knocked up last time…"

Rachel gave her an annoyed look, then banged on the table in frustration, "I don't get it! Everyone thinks we're perfect for each other, he was _in love with me_ since he was 15, and I'm having his kid- why do things never work out for us? They worked out for you and Chandler, and believe me, _no one_ thinks you're perfect for each other, he wasn't in love with you forever, and you _weren't_ having his kid! I just don't get this!"

Rachel began to cry, tears coming down in torrents. She stood and made for the door, "I-I'm going to… going to go…just don't…talk to Chandler or Ross or anyone about this, OK?"

Monica watched her friend leave. She sighed, "Shoot me now."

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I know, short, but Chapter 2 will be up soon…until then…hehehe review!


	2. Chapter 2

"The Why"

Show: Friends

Genre: Romance

Rated: K+ some minor cursing, references to sex…nothing that is worse than on the show ;)

Pairing(s): Ross/Rachel

Summary: When Rachel is in her eighth month of pregnancy, she realizes she still has feelings for Ross. Does he feel the same, and how do the other four feel about this delicate situation?

Author's Note: Rachel is eight months pregnant (in the eighth season) with Ross' child. AU fic, un-betaed. Also, I seriously couldn't think of a title for this at all.

AN 2: I have no idea if Emma had godparents, so…:whistles: Thank you for all the reviews- I really appreciate it, and keep 'em coming:::wink:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with "Friends"…… except for Chandler. Just kidding…though I sure wish I did…

To the Chick and the Duck- they don't get enough dedications, I swear.

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Chapter 2

"Hey, Pheebs!" Rachel greeted Phoebe as she entered Central Perk. Her blonde friend's head spun around.

"Oh, it's just you."

Rachel sat next to her on the couch, "Yeah, it's me, were you expecting someone?"

"Oh, no one of importance," Phoebe said brightly. She then glared up at the ceiling, muttering, "And you said something _interesting _was going to happen…"

"Hey…can I…talk to you about something?"

Phoebe's looked back to Rachel, "If it's about that box next to Joey's bed, I don't know anything about it!"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, "No- no, it's not that…but let's get back to that later," she added.

"Then what is it?"

"Well, you know how Ross and I are having this baby together?" Rachel began carefully. Before she could continue, however, Phoebe interrupted.

"I know what you're going to say," Phoebe said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You- you do?"

"Yes, and I'd be happy to."

"Happy to…happy to _what_?" Rachel asked, thoroughly confused.

"Be your baby's godmother."

Rachel rubbed for forehead. She'd been hoping against hope that Phoebe had known that Rachel was falling in love with Ross and would talk to him for her- but since when did she live in a perfect world? "Honey, no, that's not what I was going to say." Seeing Phoebe's slightly hurt look, she added, "I mean…we're not sure about godparents yet."

Phoebe brightened up again, "Oh! Then what is it?"

Rachel felt somewhat ashamed at Phoebe's hope at becoming a godmother; Ross and Rachel had already agreed on Monica and Chandler to be the godparents. "Well, you know how me and Ross have always been…you know… kind of _rocky_ in our relationship?"

"Sure," Phoebe nodded, "'We were on a break!' 'No we weren't!'"

"Yeah, exactly…and you know how he fell in love with me when he was, like, 15, and everyone always said we were perfect for each other?"

Phoebe slowly nodded.

"And, so, I was thinking…we're having this baby together, and there has _got_ to be a reason I got pregnant-"

Phoebe snorted, "If you think the reason you got pregnant because he was in love with you since he was 15, I think you _might_ want to learn about a little something called 'sex'."

Rachel shot Phoebe and exasperated look.

"_Or _you could continue what you were going to say," said Phoebe, glancing up at the ceiling again as she drank her coffee.

"OK, ready?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, impatient, "Say it already!"

"I think I'm in love with Ross."

These words had two effects. Phoebe sprayed coffee all over the table and she gasped for breath. A crash came from the counter- Gunther had dropped a tray of plates and mugs in horror and was now staring at Rachel.

"You- you- you _what_?" Phoebe exclaimed, putting her coffee on the table and gaping at Rachel in disbelief, "But I thought you were over him!"

"So what if I was? He'll want to start things up again, right? I mean, it's the right thing to _do_, and why wouldn't he want to?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe he's not in love with you!"

Rachel brushed her hair out of her face and said fearfully, clutching her chest, "He's not?"

Phoebe looked concernedly at her friend, "No, I'm not saying he's _not_…but do you really want to face the consequences if he reacts weird to it? You could _really_ hurt your friendship, and the baby…"

Rachel sank back into the couch. She sighed, "You know, maybe you're right…"

"Of course I'm right! It's _Ross_; if you tell him he'll either totally freak out or want to marry you!"

Rachel frowned for a moment, and then sat up, "You know, that wouldn't be bad-"

"You can't marry Ross!" Phoebe cried out.

"If he feels the same, why not?"

"Then you leave me with Joey!"

"Wait, so you picked Chandler over Joey?"

"Chandler has money and Monica is always talking about how good the sex is!"

"Oh, please, Monica boasted about how high her body fat was when we were in middle school!"

"_Really-_"

"Can we focus on my problem?" Rachel asked irritably. Phoebe nodded and Rachel continued, "OK, so I'm still in love with Ross. Both you and _Monica_ think that I shouldn't tell him because it might screw up our friendship, and the baby's future. But I think I should tell him because there's a very good chance that he wants to start things up again."

Rachel stood as Phoebe finished off her coffee, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go back to my place, I need to think," Rachel sighed. Phoebe raised an eyebrow and Rachel added, "I'm not going to tell Ross!"

"Good," Phoebe nodded as Rachel walked out of Central Perk.

"Not yet, at least!" Rachel called as the door closed.

Phoebe banged on the table, "_Damn_ that Green!" she glared up at the ceiling, "Well, it _was_ interesting, I'll give you that much…"

Gunther came rushing over, "Is she going to tell him?"

"I don't know, why?"

Gunther threw down the empty tray he was carrying and stomped back behind the counter, fuming.

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Anyway, there's Chapter 2…I don't think I wrote Phoebe well, though…one moment she's kooky, the next she's rather bitchy, and it's hard for me to write that…:sigh:…please review, it makes my day!


	3. Chapter 3

This story might seem a little awkward at times, because I had the entire thing planned out (it was extremely confusing) and then decided to change the entire plot line. I don't know why I wanted to…I just did. So it's shorter and a lot different compared to my original idea. So…yeah. Smiles! And I also had to find my song for it…I'm thinking Maroon5's "Secret", but I'm not sure.

Chapter 3

Rachel unlocked to the door to her and Ross' apartment. She sighed as she saw the familiar, warm signs of Ross- the fake fossils, the paleontologist magazines, and most of all, the pictures. One or two were of Rachel and Ross together; she picked one up and looked rather longingly at it. Ross had his arm around her and was grinning; she was smiling and looking up at him. Rachel placed the frame back down and closed the door, collapsing on the couch.

She looked down at her stomach and frowned; would she feel this way about Ross if it hadn't been for little Baby Geller?

_Baby Green-Geller_, she reminded her self. _Only Baby Geller if we were married…_

She snatched up one of her magazines that was lying on the table; she wouldn't think about that. She'd received advice from her two best friends: _don't tell Ross._ But she wanted to so bad, and she had a strange feeling that he would feel the same way…

Who else could she ask? Joey was rather biased; he was in love with her, after all. And Chandler…well, he was Chandler. Perhaps she should just listen to Monica and Phoebe…

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Ross tossed his keys onto the coffee table and Rachel jolted awake. Ross cringed as Rachel slowly turned to him, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, Rach!"

Rachel stared at him for a minute or so and Ross felt one of her lectures on how she-was-carrying-his-baby-and-he-should-respect-that speeches coming up. Instead, she pointed to the chair, "Sit."

Ross sat, nervous. She had never asked him to sit before; this wasn't going to be pretty. The pregnancy had brought a change over her, which Ross knew was normal, having seen both Carol and Phoebe pregnant. But Rachel was much different; sometimes she would yell at him, and then the next moment she'd cry and say that she was sorry.

"Ross, we need to talk."

"Uh…okay," he said, rather startled that she wasn't yelling.

Rachel took a deep breath and looked up at Ross, "OK, so we're having this baby…"

Ross nodded.

"You know how…whenever we try 'us'," she started, using air quotes, "It always turns out…crazy!" she added, waving her arms through the air for effect.

Ross frowned at her strange behavior, "Sure…"

"It was always, 'We were on a break!', 'No, we weren't!', 'Yes, we were!', and then there was Paolo, and Barry, and then there was Emily…but now, we're having a baby together, and I keep thinking about…about…about _us_. And I really want…no, I _need_ to tell you this…even if Monica and Phoebe think it's the wrong thing to do, who cares? I mean this is us, not them, right?"

Ross was rather taken aback, "Yeah, it is. But…what is it that you have to tell me?"

Rachel pushed a stray hair behind her ear and locked eyes with Ross, "Ross…I think I'm in love with you."

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Chandler Bing entered his apartment, whistling, "Mon?"

Monica appeared from their bedroom, holding a vacuum, "Oh my god, I _have_ to tell you something!"

Chandler frowned worriedly and moved towards her, "What is it?"

"Actually…I can't tell you."

"OK," he shrugged, and flopped down on the couch.

"RACHEL'S IN LOVE WITH ROSS!" Monica shouted, and Chandler jumped up in shock.

"She's…she's _what_?"

"She told me today, after you left. I told her not to tell him…but who knows if she'll listen to me?" she paused as she looked out the window, aghast, "SHE'S TELLING HIM!"

Both rushed over and stared out the window. After a moment or so, Chandler said quietly, "You know, they _do_ live together, they could just be talking."

Monica hit him lightly over the head and continued to watch the scene across the street.

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"OK, I know…it's big news…You can just think about it and talk to me when you're ready," Rachel added softly to the shocked Ross.

Ross' eyes were wide as he stared straight as the table, but not really seeing it.

Rachel watched Ross in exasperation for five minutes; how could he possibly just sit there and not say anything? For the first time, her heart filled with dread; what if they were right? What if Ross _didn't_ feel the same and they were awkward around each other? She would lose one of her closest friends, for one. The baby's future would be even more screwed up than it was at the current moment, also.

"OK, OK, you gotta say _something_," Rachel snapped, throwing down the magazine she'd been holding.

Ross broke from his trance and stood, trying to think of what to say, "What the, how did, what the! I thought…what the…" he began to pace across the room, "I thought you…but you were…we were _over_ each other…baby…mistake! How did, when? Why…hell…"

He was now pacing very fast, rubbing his temple, muttering and every once a while an audible word came out. On his ninth time across the living room, he tripped on a shoe and fell face-first on the hard floor. Letting out a yelp of pain, he jumped back up and Rachel stood, "Are you OK?"

"Don't…don't…don't come near me, you lover!" Ross shouted as Rachel approached him. He backed away from her, "How…_when_?"

"I guess a few months ago I started to…develop those feelings…again," she added. Then she continued, crossing her arms as he continued to back away and trip over his feet, "Look, Ross, I don't need you to… reciprocate the feelings or anything. I just thought…I just thought it was the right thing to do. We're…we're having this baby together…and we need to know where the other stands, right?"

Ross looked at her for a moment, then nodded and stepped forward carefully, "Thanks…for telling me."

He pulled her into a hug, and she fought back tears. _He doesn't feel the same…they were right…_

"Rach?" he said cautiously as they ended the hug.

"Mmm?" Rachel said, brushing away tears.

"Is it OK…" he began, and then she felt something she'd missed desperately. He took a step forward and lightly put his lips on hers. She kissed him back, and it deepened.

_Oh…my…**god**…_she thought, her mind going blank.

He broke the kiss and smiled at her. He finished his sentence, "if I do that?"

She smiled back at the man she loved, "Anytime."

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Chandler blinked. Did Ross and Rachel just…were they…?

"Oh my god," Monica muttered under her breath as she watched the kiss end, "Did they just _kiss_?"

"You know, you'd think so," Chandler said rather shakily, "But I think those are their evil twins."

"This is one of those times where I'm glad I was wrong," Monica said happily, brushing away the tears of happiness for her brother and best friend.

Chandler turned her with a grin and kissed her. She smiled back at him after the kiss, then they both turned back to the window. Just as soon, they turned away.

"Didn't need to see _that_!"

"_Nope_!"

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"So, we're going to start things up again, and hopefully it'll all work out this time," Rachel finished, and smiled at Ross.

The six were seated in Central Perk. Phoebe, Chandler, and Monica were beaming at the new couple; Joey was staring at his coffee mug.

"Joey?" Rachel said softly.

He looked up, "Yep?"

"I know that this is a little hard for you…Are you okay?"

Joey gave her and Ross a reassuring grin, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." When the other five gave him unsure looks, he continued, "Look, I know, I fell in love with you… but you and _Ross_…well…everyone thinks you're perfect together, so… I'm just happy for you."

"Thanks, Joe," Ross said, and gave Rachel a kiss.

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Mmmm I think I'm done here. So anyway, please review…R/R forever, yay go lobsters! And I had to sneak a _little_ Mondler in there, I'm even more of a Mondler shipper than R/R…so R/R and Mondler forever, with some P/J on the side:good dinner: Thanks for all reviews…that stupid tree:hates Richard: Anyway, I know i finished it soon, but I'm moving on to a deeper, darker, much longer AU fic...bwahaahaha but there's R/R and Mondler in there too, so hopefully ye will like. When I post it.


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